U.S. stocks slid on Friday, with the blue-chip Dow posting its worst day of the year and helping cement losses for all three major stock indexes for the week.

At the open, stocks were dragged lower by shares of health insurance giant UnitedHealth, which tumbled after the Wall Street Journal said the company's Medicare billing practice is being investigated by the Department of Justice. UnitedHealth shares closed down more than 7%.

More pressure on the market came from data showing a weakening economy and heightened inflation worries. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell a more than expected 10% as consumers worried about higher inflation from possible new tariffs. The 5-year inflation outlook was 3.5%, the highest since 1995.

Existing home sales also slumped more than expected last month to 4.08 million units, and the U.S. services purchasing managers index slipped into contraction territory for February, according to S&P Global.

The broad S&P 500 index dropped 1.71%, or 104.39 points, to 6,013.13; the Dow tumbled 1.69%, or 748.63 points, to 43,428.02; and the tech-laden Nasdaq fell 2.2%, or 438.35 points, to 19,524.01. The benchmark 10-year yield declined to 4.429%. as investors moved out of risky stocks and into safer fixed-income assets.

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Stocks to watch

Other moving stocks on Friday included:

• Block's results in the last three months of the year missed analysts' expectations. Shares of the payments platform shed more than 17.5%.
• Dropbox said it expects a 1.5% decline in paid users this year. Shares of the online storage company dropped more than 16%.
• Shares of Novo Nordisk, maker of blockbuster obesity drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, rose more than 5% after the Food and Drug Administration said shortages in those drugs had been resolved. That same announcement had the opposite effect on Hims & Hers Health stock. Shares of the telehealth provider that sells a copy of the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic plummeted almost 26%.
• Rivian topped analysts' earnings estimates in the last few months of the year but predicted deliveries would decline this year from 2024. The electric car maker's shares dropped 4.7%.
• Celsius Holdings stock jumped almost 28% after the energy drink maker said it would buy health and wellness drinks brand Alani Nutrition in a $1.8 billion cash and stock deal.
• Akamai Technologies tumbled almost 22% after the cybersecurity company forecast annual 2025 revenue below analysts' estimates.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin prices turned lower after Bybit, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, said Friday a hacker took control of one of its digital wallets holding ether and transferred all the tokens to an unidentified address. It's seen as one of the biggest crypto heists of all time.

The theft erased earlier positive sentiment from crypto exchange Coinbase's announcement that the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to drop its enforcement case against the company, pending the approval of the regulator’s commissioners.

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC the company will not pay any fine, and the agreement to end the case marks a “huge day” for Coinbase and the crypto industry at large.

Bitcoin was last down 3.33% at $95,073.12.

The story was updated with new information.

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.